Jason Witten has been Tony Romo's teammate since he came into the league in 2003

Published at 10:46 AM CDT on May 19, 2015

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When the Dallas Cowboys were in the process of courting La’el Collins, quarterback Tony Romo reportedly told his Valley Ranch bosses that if Collins was added to what was already an impressive offensive line, he could play five more seasons.

Romo’s longtime teammate and friend Jason Witten believes that’s a realistic estimate for he and his quarterback, but he doesn’t want to get into guessing at the future.

“If we do it like last year we can. But I mean, I try not to look that far ahead,” Witten said, per the Dallas Morning News. “I think you just go one year at a time. For him, he played as well as he’s ever played. I think the way he’s handled the back and the way he’s on top of his body, I think he can play as long as he wants to play.”

To be sure, there was no evidence that Romo is slowing down on display in 2014. He might have had his best season ever, throwing for 3,705 yards, 34 touchdowns and just nine interceptions while leading the Cowboys to their first NFC East title since 2009. The performance came as no surprise to Witten.

“His standard and his expectation for what he wants to do and achieve is so much higher than what any of us thinks,” Witten said. “He’s constantly changing things to give himself an opportunity to be at his best. I think that’s what makes him so elite, how he’s approached it, and he doesn’t listen to any of that other stuff. I thought last year was a byproduct of all the work that he puts in.”